Pools of Sorrow, Waves of Joy
by CrazyCatie
Summary: Danny Ocean's niece is an eccentric girl, full of life and oddities.  So, needless, to say, she doesn't exactly seem fit for the world of witty jokes and crime Danny lives in. But her uncanny talent suggests otherwise...and then there's Linus...
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Well…I don't know this section very well, and I haven't really read any of the fics. All that I know is that I am in love with the Ocean's movies (and the men :) ) and I would REALLY love to write a nice long fic about them. I write mostly Beatles stuff, as I am a HUGE Beatles freak, but I thought I'd try something new for once. So…here goes? **

For a long time, I grew up thinking that my name just meant that I was 'Little and Womanly'. I actually thought Caroline was a pretty good name, to tell you the truth. It could be shortened and made cuter, and it could also be long and full and pretty. Little and womanly…yeah, I could definitely live with that. Not bad at all. It wasn't until I was…er…I'd say a junior in high school, probably, when I came out of my naïve little shell and realized that it was never my FIRST name that I should be looking at. Rather, it was my LAST name.

As far as last name's go, Ocean is pretty solid. Oceans are usually peaceful, beautiful, serene. And while those aren't exactly words I would use to describe myself, I guess I never had any complaints. But what I never really took the time to notice, was that that name had little to do with ME in the first place. And the trouble that came along with it certainly didn't apply to me, right?

Wrong.

My father usually referred to Uncle Danny as That Man, and I hardly ever saw him. But on the few rare occasions that he DID manage to stop by my house, he always brought the best surprises. A karaoke machine on my seventh birthday, a pretty lady that I got to call Auntie Tess on my Communion day, oh, and definitely the BEST one was the pony he brought to what my father had warned would be my last birthday party ever. In my family, it was commonly known that my father was the cheap, worrying, boring brother, and my uncle was the fun, hilarious, handsome one.

In short, my mom got the shit end of the stick.

So, lalalala, Uncle Danny's so great and rich and we love him and all that good stuff—and then he goes and lands himself in prison. And boy oh boy, do I remember that night well.

…

Dad put his phone down, huffing and staring at the wall. It was regular for him to answer phone calls during dinner, and I had learned to accept it a long time ago. I mean, it's not like it was disrupting the conversation flow. It was just me and him, so there wasn't really much to say.

"What's up?" I asked, taking a forkful of steak and making it hover just before my mouth. I was ready for him to launch into a full, detailed description of the phone call that I had already heard part of, but he still said nothing. Concerned, I put my fork down.

"Dad—seriously, what's wrong?"

He sighed, pushing his plate away from him and staring down at his long, dark fingers. What was he thinking? That was something I often wondered about David Ocean, a man so serious and blunt that I wondered sometimes how he was able to function. The only one who could EVER make him laugh was Mom, and that…well, that was history, as they say.

"Caroline…it's your uncle."

Immediately, relief washes over me. Now if there was a line I had heard often in my life, it was that one. Uncle Danny craved trouble, or so it seemed, and was always getting in mild forms of it. Now that I thought about it…where did he work? The subject had never come up, but he was pretty wealthy and I KNEW that wasn't something that just happened overnight.

"Oh, man. What's he done this time?" I asked, grinning, and leaning on my elbows to get more into the conversation. Dad casts a scathing look at my position, and keeps staring at my arms until I slip them back to my sides.

"He's in jail," Dad said slowly, as though I'm five and don't have a very clear picture of what jail is.

This statement is a little bit worrisome. The way Dad said 'jail' instead of 'in trouble' is a little bit more than ominous. It's like saying dead instead of sick, divorced instead of separated, cancelled instead of on hiatus.

"Permanently?" I joked feebly, chuckling lightly and trying to lighten the mood. In reality, I feel a little bit betrayed. Uncle Danny had promised me HIMSELF that he would never get into serious trouble. But hell, this isn't about me at all.

Dad picked up his fork, speared a green bean, and chewed rhythmically while I awaited his answer. "Possibly," he finally uttered, wiping his mouth gently with a napkin.

I tried to smile, hoping to God that my dad would smile back and tell me everything thing was gonna be alright. That was how it usually worked. But my smile faded when he continued to munch slowly on his dinner, the silence surrounding us like a thick, wool blanket. Frustration started to mount in my head, a million different thoughts colliding with each other. What had Danny done?

"Dad—" I tried, putting a hand on his forearm. He just knocked it off casually.

What if he killed someone? What if he killed someone in the MOB or something? What if Dad was so quiet because he didn't want to say the unspeakable crime that my uncle had committed?

"Would you PLEASE just tell me what the FUCK is going on here?" I finally burst, pounding my fist soundly against the table. The silverware rattled, knocking into the plates, and my father stopped mid chew.

His head slowly swiveled to look at me, his eyes distant and his expression blank. "I told you," he began coolly, "your uncle is in jail. There's nothing I can do—or even WANT to do—at this point." I saw the look of disgust creep onto his features, though he tried really hard to hide it on my part. It was only then, I think, that I realized just how much my dad really disliked Danny. But then again, there always has to be someone who secretly hates the loved one.

"What'd he do?" I asked bravely, staring down Dad straight in the eye, determined to get an answer.

"It's not up for discussion," he answered with equal fervor, his voice a deep monotone.

That was the last straw. I whipped my chair back, nearly knocked over the table with the force of my ascend to my feet, and stormed out of the dining room. I made sure that I pounded EXTRA hard on the way up the stairs, and I even took the time to call, "I HATE you!" back to my still seated father.

…

Ah, how I remember that fateful day. See, if it hadn't been for that, I might never have gotten suspicious and looked into Danny's happenings on my own. I was confident that he had only ever told my father of what he did, seeing as Dad seemed to be the only one who despised him. But the internet was a useful place. In fact, I would venture so far to say that if it wasn't for the websites that I pulled up that night, I might never have started dabbling into the hobby that is currently my career.

It was that night—the night of the fight—that the knock came at the door. At the time, I was just a little bit pissed off that someone had come to the door so late. But my father, always the night owl, was up, and he answered with his usual, "Hello, Ocean residence." I didn't think anything of it.

But I definitely should have.

**AN: Okay, so I KNOW that right off the bat, it's an OC and the actual characters aren't even in it yet. Which is probably a major no-no. But you know what? Screw it. I have a plot somewhat in mind, and I'm gonna keep on that track for the most part (and yes, it WILL most definitely include the main characters) but if you guys have any suggestions, I would LOOOOOVE to hear them. In…I dunno…a…review, perhaps?**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Okay, for the introduction chapter, I'm switching POVs to Linus's. I just thought it'd be better from his perspective, because for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to write it from Caroline's.**

"Guys, this is Caroline," Danny said, gesturing to the girl standing beside him. She was tall and slim, with long blonde hair and glittery blue eyes. She looked young, but I was never good at guess age. Maybe twenty three or twenty four. "She's my niece."

I swallowed roughly. She was pretty, I had to admit. But my logistical brain couldn't quite process the reason why she was HERE. Was he trying to say she was going to WORK with us? Because that was a little…well, I just didn't like the idea. Sexist as it was.

"Care, this is Rusty (but you know him), Virgil and Turk"—("Ha," Virgil whispered to Turk. "He said MY name first.")—"Basher, Saul, Livingston, Yen, Frank, Rueben, and," Danny paused, making sure she got all of this, the pointed to me, "Linus."

Caroline's bright blue eyes flicked from each face, trying to memorize on the spot. She smiled at everyone, and we all waited for her to say something. But instead, she just looked back up at her uncle, and he went on.

"Caroline's father is my brother," he said, as though this was an obvious fact that everyone should know.

"I didn't know you had a—"

"We're not close," Danny interrupted, silencing Reuben with a look.

Finally, I found an opportunity. "Why's she here?" I asked, my eyes running the length of her frail looking body. I don't mean to be so rude, but what could she possibly help us with.

"There's been a tragedy in the family," Danny told me with a heavy stare. "I figure the best way for us to heal is to…heal together." He said this with a sort of smirk, and the girl chomped down on her bottom lip to keep from smiling.

Rusty, who had been uncharacteristically quiet this entire time, piped up. "She's a nice girl. And we need her."

This surprised everyone in the room, as all the men but two raised their eyebrows at exactly the same time. "Oh?" Saul inquired. "And what makes her so special?"

Danny and Rusty exchanged a look, then looked back at the rest of us. "Later. Right now, we have to worry about what's REALLY important…"

While Danny went on to start ranting off some information about the Benedict Case, my eyes drifted over to Caroline. To my embarrassment, she was looking right back at me. We both looked away, instead focusing right back on her uncle.

"…and then Linus will…?"

This caught me off guard. My mouth dropped open, and I stuttered, trying to remember what exactly I did.

"Try and pay attention, kid," Rusty chastised. "One thing goes wrong in this, and we're all screwed."

…

"So, where'd you come from?" Virgil asked Caroline, who was sitting uncomfortably squished between him and his brother. She had a pained expression on her face, as though she'd rather be anywhere but in her seat.

"Chicago," she said, casting an uneasy glance around the room to see if anybody could rescue her.

"I'm from Chicago," I said, and her gaze immediately met mine. She half smiled, and beside her Virgil gave me a look of pure death.

"I love it there," Caroline muttered, a distant smile on her face. "It's so…"

I nodded. "Yeah, I know."

"If I could go back, I would. When this all over…"

I kept watching her, thinking she was going to say something more. But she never did. She just smiled, her eyes sort of glazing over as she thought about how good her life was back then. She probably had a nice house in the suburbs, or a trendy apartment on Lake Shore Drive. She probably had a model boyfriend, and two luxury cars. No doubt that her family loved her, as it was obvious in Danny's eyes, and her mother and father were probably awaiting a phone call from her right now.

If only I realized then how wrong I was.

…

"You're not doing it right."

"Oh, really? Because you would know so much about it."

"I know enough to know you're not doing it right."

"I might do it better if you weren't breathing over my shoulder."

"What? Are you implying that my breath stinks? What're you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to say that you're BREATHING all over me and it's getting annoying!"

"That's why Mom loved me more; I never whined."

"The only thing Mom loved about you was—"

"GUYS!"

Virgil and Turk both looked at Caroline, whose eyes were narrowed and face was slightly pink. She was breathing heavily, her blue eyes livid. "Let ME do it." She pushed Virgil's hand out of the way, and her long, pale fingers began to fly across the keyboard. The room was silent except the clickety-clack of Caroline's typing.

Even though I know it's beyond creepy, I watched her the entire time while she worked. Her eyes widened slightly, her mouth almost agape. She looked intent, determined, focused. "Got it," she finally said. And got it she had.

"See, even SHE can do it better than you," Turk muttered under his breath, earning a glare from his brother.

"Isn't Livingston supposed to be good with computers?" Caroline asked me. My heart jolted when I realized she was talking directly at me, and I was a little bit startled.

"Y-Yeah. I guess. I mean, yes, he is." I frowned a little bit, mystified as to why I couldn't form fully functioning sentences.

She raised her eyebrows. "Where is he then?"

"Danny and Rusty had an assignment at the casino for him, I think," I stammer, blinking furiously. For some reason, this makes her lips stretch into a slow, smooth smile.

"How'd you get in this business anyway?"

I stare at her blankly. "How did you?"

She seems to find something extremely amusing. "Same way."

"My parents?" This is a dumb thing to say, and I know it. But seriously, I don't understand what she's getting at.

"Yup." And then she just walks away.

There are two things I will never understand in my entire lifetime: quantum physics, and women.

**AN: Oh, Linus. How I love you. Review? :)**


End file.
